‘Quarters were cramped’: Cabarrus County EMS moves to new HQ, 10 times bigger than the last

CONCORD, N.C. — For nearly half a century, the Emergency Medical Services of Cabarrus County operated from a residential-style building. Over the past fifty years, the department grew tenfold.

Now, operations are moving to a new 30,000-square-foot facility.

The new headquarters is built on top of the former Cabarrus County Fairgrounds on Cabarrus Avenue West.

It features a simulation training space, a lecture hall, conference rooms, a fitness center and more.

“We’re proud to show this amazing facility to the public,” says EMS Chief Jimmy Lentz. “In a lot of ways, the building mirrors our organization: it’s innovative and shows a strong commitment to providing excellent care to the community.”

The simulation rooms can be set up to train staff response in different physical environments and situations, like bathrooms and wreck scenes.

The rooms also have complete recording capability for post-training analysis.

“Our training is getting ready to step up to something we have never been privy to,” says EMS Deputy Chief Jonathan Maulden.

Construction for the new headquarters began in November of 2021, and the grand opening is on Wednesday.

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